Sunday, October 2, 2022

Sources: Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky withdrew $10M from the crypto lender weeks before freezing customer accounts; one source says $8M was used to pay taxes (Kadhim Shubber/Financial Times)

Kadhim Shubber / Financial Times:
Sources: Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky withdrew $10M from the crypto lender weeks before freezing customer accounts; one source says $8M was used to pay taxes  —  Scrutiny of Alex Mashinsky grows after crypto lender was left with hole in balance sheet  —  Celsius Network founder Alex …



A look at AI chatbots that seek to improve mental health, like Wysa and Woebot, which have millions of users despite scant research to support their efficacy (Grace Browne/Wired)

Grace Browne / Wired:
A look at AI chatbots that seek to improve mental health, like Wysa and Woebot, which have millions of users despite scant research to support their efficacy  —  With human therapists in short supply, AI chatbots are trying to plug the gap—but it's not clear how well they work.  —  Bots Run the Internet



Instagram food photography is becoming more realistic, driven by generational changes, more diverse food creators, and a frustration with the curation culture (Bettina Makalintal/Eater)

Bettina Makalintal / Eater:
Instagram food photography is becoming more realistic, driven by generational changes, more diverse food creators, and a frustration with the curation culture  —  The food blogger aesthetic has given way to something more realistic and DIY: Laissez-faire Instagram food is here



A look at the fake online traffic business, as some ad exchanges look the other way and advertisers are embarrassed to admit they purchased fraudulent inventory (Morgan Meaker/Wired)

Morgan Meaker / Wired:
A look at the fake online traffic business, as some ad exchanges look the other way and advertisers are embarrassed to admit they purchased fraudulent inventory  —  Botmasters have created a Kafkaesque system where companies are paying huge sums to show their ads to bots.  And everyone is fine with this.



Telegram reduces prices of its Premium service in India, these are the new prices

Encrypted messaging platform Telegram has reduced its monthly subscription fee in India for premium users, down to Rs 179 from Rs 469. https://ift.tt/q7JOG6z

Tencent is no longer China's most valuable company after its shares dropped 64% since Jan. 2021, wiping $623B in market value, more than any other firm globally (Jeanny Yu/Bloomberg)

Jeanny Yu / Bloomberg:
Tencent is no longer China's most valuable company after its shares dropped 64% since Jan. 2021, wiping $623B in market value, more than any other firm globally  —  Tencent Holdings Ltd. has lost its title as China's biggest company to liquor giant Kweichow Moutai Co., the latest sign …



Sources: the US State Department ordered embassies to push back against foreign influence campaigns, as officials worry anti-US views are taking root worldwide (New York Times)

New York Times : Sources: the US State Department ordered embassies to push back against foreign influence campaigns, as officials worry ...